...this week. Yesterday (Monday) Richard and Ray fixed all the temporary patches to the wheel lining, replaced the hopper onto the stone furniture, and tidied up.
Today, Richard and Bob went to the timber yard in Appleby to discuss the supply of oak and larch boards for the launder and wheel lining.
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Friday, 20 January 2012
The leaky wheel
Firstly, here are last week's missing pictures.
When we tried to run the wheel last week, we found water was pouring through in several places. Unfortunately the oak bucket and lining boards rot from their edges, resulting in large gaps. They also rot around the fixing bolts, so we had to re-attach several boards - this always means cutting the old bolts out. We have cut up a sheet of plywood to make a number of 4 inch wide "plates" to patch the gaps in the lining, but we have become aware that we will need to virtually rebuild the wheel in the near future.
We just needed another job
We also lifted the No 2 runner stone and brushed and hoovered out all the grain and flour left from the last milling. We were then able to reassemble the tun, which will keep things clean.
Outside view of the launder end box
The chain supporting the launder end box
When we tried to run the wheel last week, we found water was pouring through in several places. Unfortunately the oak bucket and lining boards rot from their edges, resulting in large gaps. They also rot around the fixing bolts, so we had to re-attach several boards - this always means cutting the old bolts out. We have cut up a sheet of plywood to make a number of 4 inch wide "plates" to patch the gaps in the lining, but we have become aware that we will need to virtually rebuild the wheel in the near future.
We just needed another job
The rotten bucket boards...
...and a plugged gap in the lining boards
We also lifted the No 2 runner stone and brushed and hoovered out all the grain and flour left from the last milling. We were then able to reassemble the tun, which will keep things clean.
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Finishing the launder end
Forgot the camera this week.
However, last week Ray and Richard had completed the side cheeks for the launder end, and removed one of the boards for modification, as it was catching on the wheel. This week we planed a bit off, replaced it and attached a chain to support the new launder extension. When we opened the sluice and ran the wheel we found that part of the launder end structure was rubbing on the mill-side wheel shroud; we either need to tighten the chain or remove yet another bit, possibly from the angle-iron frame this time.
The wheel has a lot of very leaky buckets and, in spite of our efforts to repair them, the water was pouring through in places. A wheel board refurbishment will become essential in the not-too-distant furure.
The headrace was full of quite large chunks of tree after the gales we have had lately - we certainly need a leat-clearing day, preferably with help from the gardeners and rangers.
We also had a meeting with Sara to agree a plan for getting local authority approval for milling.
However, last week Ray and Richard had completed the side cheeks for the launder end, and removed one of the boards for modification, as it was catching on the wheel. This week we planed a bit off, replaced it and attached a chain to support the new launder extension. When we opened the sluice and ran the wheel we found that part of the launder end structure was rubbing on the mill-side wheel shroud; we either need to tighten the chain or remove yet another bit, possibly from the angle-iron frame this time.
The wheel has a lot of very leaky buckets and, in spite of our efforts to repair them, the water was pouring through in places. A wheel board refurbishment will become essential in the not-too-distant furure.
The headrace was full of quite large chunks of tree after the gales we have had lately - we certainly need a leat-clearing day, preferably with help from the gardeners and rangers.
We also had a meeting with Sara to agree a plan for getting local authority approval for milling.
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
The launder end completed
For the last couple of weeks the weather has been poor, and Ray has decided that crossing the Pennines in possible heavy snow would not be a good idea. It has therefore been left to Richard and me (Bob) to finish off the launder end. We did this even though it involved cutting wood, a job we usually leave to Ray.
Today we cut the last 4 or 5 pieces, including the boards that extend the base of the launder, and the angled side panels.
The finished job can be seen in this photo - the boards of the wheel can just be seen through the gap where the water is supposed to fall through. The gap leads to a short rectangular tube that is wider than it looks, but is angled back towards the launder to deflect the momentum of the water.
We tested the wheel rotation, and found that one of the new boards just touches one or two ofthe buckets, so we will have to take that out and plane it down a bit - another job for Ray!
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Modifying the end of the launder
Richard has now finished fabricating the iron framework to carry the modifications to the end of the launder. The idea is
- To carry the water further so that it will enter the wheel at a higher point, so that it will be falling as far as possible while it is in the wheel
- To deposit the water at a better angle so that its momentum is not acting against the motion of the wheel
- To add side cheeks to stop the water splashing out of the wheel
View from the launder showing the brackets
and the side cheeks
and the side cheeks
Another view showing one bracket and side cheek
Sunday, 20 November 2011
General maintenance
Since the season ended, we have been doing a few small jobs and preparing for bigger ones to come.
We had a long-ish meeting with Sara to agree what the programme of work should be.
We had a good tidy-up in the workshop.
Richard fabricated one of the metal structures to modify the end of the launder and we tried it in place.
Ray inserted a small strip of wood onto the end of the launder bottom so that the lip is now parallel to the wheel.
We made a trash strainer out of chicken wire for the mill end of the head race.
We dismantled the stone furniture and hoovered out the generous layer of flour stuck to the inside.
We measured up for the timber we need to repair the launder and to re-line the wheel.
We designed a grain storage bin.
We had a long-ish meeting with Sara to agree what the programme of work should be.
We had a good tidy-up in the workshop.
Ray inserted a small strip of wood onto the end of the launder bottom so that the lip is now parallel to the wheel.
We measured up for the timber we need to repair the launder and to re-line the wheel.
We designed a grain storage bin.
Monday, 24 October 2011
Meeting the Traditional Corn Millers
On Saturday 22nd, Richard, Bob and Sara Braithwaite (custodian of Acorn Bank) were invited to join a meeting of the Traditional Corn Millers Guild. They were at Little Salkeld watermill for one of their two annual meetings, hosted by Nick and Ana Jones. We met them for afternoon tea and to watch an excellent 30 minute film that they had commissioned.
On Sunday morning it was their turn to visit us at Acorn Bank. We started the mill early and set about milling our last 25kg bag of grain. Having all those experts around made it both slightly embarrassing and extremely helpful to encounter one or two new problems.
The first was that we seemed to be unable to get enough power to produce flour, until it was pointed out that the stones can be "choked" if grain is delivered too fast ("you are literally grinding to a halt!"). A reduction in the feed produced an immediate improvement. In fact we were able to reduce the water flow after the machine had "warmed up".
Secondly, there continued to be whole grains in the product. These turned out to be missing the grinding process due to scatter from the bottom of the damsel bouncing them across the top of the stone. It is strange that this has not been a problem before.
Thirdly, we continued to have difficulty with the grain feed from the hopper to the shoe - either it ran too fast and overfilled the shoe, or it didn't run at all, giving a threat of running "dry". This needs constant attention. Others reckoned that their hoppers sit in the grain in the top of the shoe and therefore don't run if the shoe is full - like a budgie seed feeder. We will try to rebuild the shoe and the support for the hopper to give this effect.
We were very pleased that the professional millers generally approved of our efforts, and Mike Thurlow, Miller at Letheringsett Watermill said "What you have done with that pair of stones is excellent - I think you all should be very proud of your achievement.". We were also very grateful for the free advice they so generously gave. Thanks, traditional corn millers!
On Sunday morning it was their turn to visit us at Acorn Bank. We started the mill early and set about milling our last 25kg bag of grain. Having all those experts around made it both slightly embarrassing and extremely helpful to encounter one or two new problems.
The first was that we seemed to be unable to get enough power to produce flour, until it was pointed out that the stones can be "choked" if grain is delivered too fast ("you are literally grinding to a halt!"). A reduction in the feed produced an immediate improvement. In fact we were able to reduce the water flow after the machine had "warmed up".
Secondly, there continued to be whole grains in the product. These turned out to be missing the grinding process due to scatter from the bottom of the damsel bouncing them across the top of the stone. It is strange that this has not been a problem before.
Thirdly, we continued to have difficulty with the grain feed from the hopper to the shoe - either it ran too fast and overfilled the shoe, or it didn't run at all, giving a threat of running "dry". This needs constant attention. Others reckoned that their hoppers sit in the grain in the top of the shoe and therefore don't run if the shoe is full - like a budgie seed feeder. We will try to rebuild the shoe and the support for the hopper to give this effect.
We were very pleased that the professional millers generally approved of our efforts, and Mike Thurlow, Miller at Letheringsett Watermill said "What you have done with that pair of stones is excellent - I think you all should be very proud of your achievement.". We were also very grateful for the free advice they so generously gave. Thanks, traditional corn millers!
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